Yukida Army
The Yukida Army, also known as Yukidan Army, are the armed forces of the kingdom of Ezo, under the rule of Yukida Kenji. The Army has strict laws regarding tradition and ceremonies, a type of code of the warriors, called the Yukidan Codex, or the Yukida no Bushido. Armies The biggest part of the Army consists of nameless, numbered corps, lead by a general or another high commanding officer. Their tasks vary, but are often defence of freshly captured area, reinforcing, or counteroffensives. Their banners carry the black and red Yukida Army crest. Yukidan Vanguardial Army The Vanguardial Army is the vanguard of the Yukida Army, more often than not lead by members of the Royal Family, which has the task of advancing through enemy territory, in order to occupie it. Other than the regular corps, it operates by means of lightning war, and has, among many other weapons, a feared notorious reputation. It is the most powerful branch of the Yukidan Army, and their banners carry a gold and white Iron Snowflake on them. Capital City Watch This devision, also known simply as the City Watch (Japanese: 都市の監視隊, Toshi-no-Kanshitai) guards the capital city of Sapporo. Its system is based upon that of the Kempeitai, the only ranks being Shou (将), Sa (佐) and I (尉), plus the rank of Hei (兵) for enlists. Additionally, it has a special unit called Death's Servants, who take care of the piled bodies of plague or war victims, as well as their belongings and homes. This part of the army became very important during the Sakoku period, as a great share of the Purgation War took place in Sapporo. During this period, the City Watch was known for their gas masks, protecting them from the Seresian plague, and a new unit was added to the City Watch. This was a unit of men enlisted for counting the dead, listing their names, getting rid of their bodies and collecting their possessions. Very remarkable were the Steamwalkers, walking masterpieces of steam-powered technology. These were big walking machines, operated by a single person inside, and equipped with a flamethrower and a rotary cannon. They could lower themselves upon a type of carriage, on which they drove through the streets of Sapporo, patrolling the city. Military Ranks The highest rank in both the army and the navy is held by Yukida Kenji. In the army this rank is called Royal Marshall (Japanese: 元帥将軍, Gensui Shougun), in the navy it's called Fleet Admiral (Japanese: 海軍元帥, Kaigun Gensui). Ranks of commissioned are divided in three groups, Shou (将), Sa (佐) and I (尉). Each group holds three ranks, upper (Japanese: 大, Tai), middle (Japanese: 中, Chuu) and lower (Japanese: 少, Shou). The navy ranks are the same as the army ranks, but with Kaigun (海軍), which means navy, in front of it. The English ranks in the following section are translations of the official German equivalents of the Ezoan ranks (which can be seen in the pictures), according to the Imperial Registration. Army ranks There are nine ranks for commissioned officers. The highest rank is the rank of Fieldmarshall (Japanese: 大将, Taishou). The second rank is General (Japanese: 中将, Chuushou). The third rank is Generallieutenant (Japanese: 少将, Shoushou). The fourth rank is the rank of Colonel (Japanese: 大佐, Taisa). The fifth rank is Colonellieutenant (Japanese: 中佐, Chuusa). The sixth rank is Major (Japanese: 少佐, Shousa). The seventh rank is Captain (Japanese: 大尉, Taii). The eigth rank is the rank of Lieutenant (Japanese: 中尉, Chuui). The lowest commissioned rank is the rank of Sergeant (Japanese: 少尉, Shoui). There are also five enlisted ranks. The highest rank is the lowest possible rank where the bearer is actually in charge of a group. This rank is called Corporal (Japanese: 兵長, Heichou). The next three ranks are Soldiers, the highest being Senior Private (Japanese: 上等兵, Joutouhei), then 1st Class Private (Japanese: 一等兵, Ittouhei), and the lowest being 2nd Class Private (Japanese: 二等兵, Nitouhei). The bottom army rank is the rank of Recruit (Japanese: 新兵, Shinpei), held by anyone freshly joining the army. Navy ranks There are nine ranks for commissioned officers. The highest rank is the rank of Admiral (Japanese: 海軍大将, Kaigun Taishou). The second rank is Counteradmiral (Japanese: 海軍中将, Kaigun Chuushou). The third rank is Viceadmiral (Japanese: 海軍少将, Kaigun Shoushou). The fourth rank is the rank of Captain (Japanese: 海軍大佐, Kaigun' 'Taisa). ''The fifth rank is Captainlieutenant (Japanese: 海軍中佐, ''Kaigun Chuusa). The sixth rank is First Lieutenant (Japanese: 海軍少佐, Kaigun Shousa). The seventh rank is Staffcornet (Japanese: 海軍大尉, Kaigun Taii). The eigth rank is the rank of First Cornet (Japanese: 海軍中尉, Kaigun Chuui). The lowest commissioned rank is the rank of Cornet (Japanese: 海軍少尉, Kaigun Shoui).'' There are four enlisted ranks, the highest being Boatman (Japanese: 水兵長, ''Suiheicho) and the other three being Seamen, divided into 1st Class (Japanese: 一等水兵, Ittou Suihei), 2nd Class (Japanese: 二等水兵, Nitou Suihei) and 3rd Class (Japanese: 三等水兵, Santou Suihei). Units Yukidan Conquest In the Heian and Sengoku periods, the army was divided into to classes: the Ashigaru (footsoldiers) and the Samurai. The Ashigaru ranged from the ranks of Recruit to Senior Private, and the Samurai from Senior Private to Fieldmarshall. This divide was mainly created by difference in social rank and status. Ashigaru The Ashigaru were divided into three four types: spearmen, archers, gunners and artillerists. They were not allowed to have swords on the battlefield, only their own appointed weaponry. Spearmen carried yari spears, or nagayari (long) spears, mostly using them in wall-of-spears formations, in order to counter cavalry. Archers were the basic long-distance units in the army, being used for the first encounter as well as assisting other troops. The gunners mostly used matchlock arquebuses, and artillerists operated siege engines like cannons, mortars, rocket launchers or trebuchets, or even ceramic grenades. A corps of Ashigaru was always led by a Samurai Corporal, who wore a red jacket over his armor. Samurai The Samurai were divided into kachi (infantrists) and ki (cavalrists). Kachi and ki were both divided into swordsmen, spearmen, archers and gunners. Every single warrior wore his own set of swords (katana and wakizashi), in addition to their other appointed weapons. Spearmen used various types of spears, but no nagayari, as they never engaged in wall-of-spear formations. Swordsmen were the main close-combat units in battle, only having their set of swords with them. Archers were usually the ones to initiate the battle, by firing numerous fluting arrows to the enemy, in order to awaken the war gods. Also, they would occasionally use fire arrows. Gunners mostly used flintlock arquebuses, but the ones of higher rank also tended to use wheellock mechanisms. Mounted gunners were sometimes equipped with multiple-barreled guns, short-barreled carbines, pistols or blunderbusses. Warrior monks Warrior monks were monks trained to fight in fortified monasteries, like the one in Sapporo. They had superior expertise in various, weapons, like swords, spears, kanabo (maces), and were favourable for their steady hands when using bows or even arquebuses. They did not wear rank insignias, as they were not organised by means of rank, and only reported to the highest comissioned officer in the army they were stationed in. Technology Yukidan Conquest Armaments Aside from katana (sword), yari (spear), yumi (longbow), gunpowder weapons began to take their role in war during this era. The simplest gun was the matchlock arquebus, used by ashigaru. These arquebuses also came in flintlock and even wheellock variants, which were more expensive and more elaborate. For the equestrian gunners, there was the carbine, which was essentially a flintlock arquebus with a shorter barrel, making it easier to handle when riding a horse. A more destructive variant of this weapon was the blunderbuss, which was used to fire several small bullets at once. It featured a wide muzzle, which resulted in a louder, more violent noice, instilling fear in those who encountered it. Sometimes, mounted gunners would use an arquebus with multiple (mostly three) barrels, which would all be loaded, and could then be revolved, in order to fire several shots in quick succession, without having the need to reload. Another version of the arquebus is the pistol, just a small single-hand version. Two less ordinary weapons were the fire arrow gun, and the wall gun. The fire arrow gun is a basically an arquebus firing some sort of gunpowder-powered rocket, which would either explode on impact or timer fuse, or fly into enemy building after being set ablaze, causing fire. The wall gun is a type of heavy calibre hand cannon, used to fire cannonballs at enemy fortifications. Siege weaponry Siege weaponry was used by the Yukidan army to a great extent. Most weapons involved black powder. First, there were the cannons. These were made of bronze, and were mounted on wooden carriages. There were several types: the Taihou (大砲), which were bombard-like cannons, mounted horizontally on a four-wheeled carriage (the wheels would more often than not be removed when the weapon had been transported to its location), the Yahou (野砲), a serpentine-like fieldgun with two wheels, the Kyuuhou (臼砲), which was a rather stout mortar mounted on a small four-wheeled carriage, often used for firing hollowed cannonballs, filled with gunpowder, the Kohou (子砲), which was a small swivelgun (this type was hardly ever used on open battlefield), the Hiya-taihou (火矢大砲), which is a two-wheeled short-barreled fire arrow launcher, which could fire a variety of rockets, like the Tetsuame (鉄雨, Iron rain), which would burst into dozens of small iron pellets in mid-air. A smaller variant of the mortar was the Another cathegory consisted of the traction trebuchets, called Toudamaki (投弾機, Ball hurling machine) powered by traction chorsds pulled by men, which were not only used to throw stones, but also soft-cased bombs or incindiary ceramic pots. Very similar in purpose were the Tousekido (投石弩, Stone throwing crossbow), a catapult-like weapon with an arm powered by traction from a large crossbow, which was very easy to operate but low in range, and the Toudantake (投弾竹, Bomb throwing bamboo), which was a simple device made of a springy piece of bamboo with a basket at one end, being held in place by a rope that could be released by pulling a hook away, which would cause the bamboo to stretch, hauling the soft-cased bomb aloft. The third cathegory consist of crossbows, of all types. One such crossbow is the Ooyumi (大弩, Great crossbow), which was a large and sophisticated crossbow, involving ingenious mechanics in order to shoot arrows at a relatively large rate. It worked by means of a continuous windlass, with two parallel ropes, transporting a hooks which pulled the string backwards. At a certain point, the obverse side of the hook would be lifted, and thus the hook would lower, releasing the string, which would cause the arrow to be fired. By means of the same gear that powered the windlass, a cilinder on top of the weapon would rotate, dose the arrows at the right time, so that the arrows could be dropped in from above recklessly, making it easier to reload. To operate it, the arbalist would aim the weapon with his belly, and rotate the windlass with his both hands. Most often the arbalist and reloading assistant would change roles every now and then. Armoured vehicles One of the first armoured vehicles in use was the fortified wagon, which was an armoured horse-drawn carriage, which would be equipped with guns, bows or crossbows. This wagon would be stationed somewhere in the battlefield, after which the horses would go away, and it would be filled with soldiers and function as a miniature fortification. Boshin War Armaments The biggest change in this war was the development of the rotary cannon. This weapon was inspired by the earlier multiple barreled guns, therefor being multiple barreled itself. It would be powered by a crank on one side, and fed by a box of rounds. At first, these rounds consisted of paper cased cartridges (inspired by earlier quick loading tubes, called Hayago), but these often resulted in the shattered paper obstructing the mechanics in the gun. Thus, a second big change was made, by the invention of the metal cartridge. However costly, these would be flung out of the gun in their entirety, leaving the gun rather clean on the inside. Also, by being made of metal, they provided much more fire power, as the gunpowder was rather tight-packed. Of course, this technology was rather pricey, so there weren't produced many rotary cannons. After some time, the metal casings were adopted for use in larger cannons. These cannons were made so, that they could be breech-loaded, by means of a rotating bolt. This provided a much bigger range of the cannon, but it soon came to attention that the accuracy was far beneath one that would prove useful. Thus, the bullets became pointed, and so, more aerodynamic. Soon, the smooth bores of the cannons were rifled, developing gyroscopical stabilisation. More and more experiments were done with these new technologies, and as the shells were made so, that they would always impact nose-first, the earlier acid-filled glass impact fuses (used on naval mines) found its use on the nose of payload-carrying shells. However, as this fuse was highly unsafe (due to the breakability of glass), the shells were transported with the fuses disassembled. This caused an enlargment in the reload time, as each shell had to be primed with a fuse before loading it into the cannon. Thus, safer fuses were developed. Purgation War Armaments One big development in de use of firearms was that of the ammunition belt, and its use. First, the rotary cannons of the previous war were adapted so that they could be belt-fed. This provided possibility for a long-lasting continuity of fire. Soon, as the belt also made a higher rate of fire possible, the guns were changed even more, so that they could be powered, aside from a crank, by steam. When this was used, a small lever would disable the crank, and enable a small steam piston inside the gun. The steam would be fed by a hose, connected to an armored boiler, able to feed up to three guns. Of course, this weapon was quite a machine, being big and heavy, thus the development of smaller repetitive guns began. In the last stage of the war, in Seresian trenches, the first Ezoan so-called machinegun (Japanese: 機関銃, Kikanjuu), gained popularity. This was still a hand-cranked gun, but with only one barrel. As the barrel would get very hot from the many explosions inside, it was surrounded by a larger water-filled barrel in order to cool it down. It was mounted on two small wheels for convenience, and fed by a belt. For the infanterists, a simple infantry rifle (Japanese: 歩兵銃, Hoheijuu) with a bayonet (Japanese: 銃剣, Juuken) was provided, and often also a pistol (Japanese: 拳銃, Kenjuu), and for the commanding officers, there was an army sword (Japanese: 軍刀, Guntou), which was basically a less-sharp katana with a knuckle bow on the hilt. This sword was mainly for symbolic purpose, but it was sometimes used for decapitation. Armored Vehicles In this war, the first tanks became reality. Based on the earlier fortified wagons, combined with top-knotch steam engines, they changed the nature of war for ever. The first one built, was a very heavy tank, with two big front wheels, and a steering wheel at its rear, had a frontal turret with a large gun, and two rotary cannons on its flanks, above the wheels. However powerful, it had some disadvantages. First, it was not quite invisible, as most of it was steam boiler, powered by brown-coal, and it expectorated colossal amounts of thick black smoke from its three funnels. Secondly, the wheels, although they were big, wouldn't provide much contact area with the ground when in muddy or wet conditions. This second problem however didn't take long to get solved, as a type of pedrail wheel had been developed, which mostly solved the problem, although the tank still couldn't go straight over a trench or razorwire or through a marsh. Ships Warships were big ironclads, with big steam-powered paddle-wheels, and smoke spewing funnels. The mostly had a typical Ezoan ramming-bow, and featured numerous cannons and turrets. One big development though, were the submarine boats (Japanese: 潜水艦, Sensuikan). These were elliptical boats, with special keel mounted paddle wheels, situated so that only the lower part was in the water, armed with conventional spring-powered torpedoes, wound up by an on-board steam turbine. These torpedoes were the first screw-driven devices in the Yukidan Army. The size of the warships led to development of aircraft-carriers, making use of the helium-filled airplanes mentioned later. Aircraft In this war aircraft came to play a major role in warfare. The first one to do so were Fuujin-class rigid airships. They were long and slender in appearance, and featured a small cabin on its belly, with a bridge, two horizontally placed sail wheels, which were the aereal equivalent of the paddle wheel, a steam engine and dozens of bombs on its underside. They were filled with hydrogen, stored in balloons made of cow-guts, which were in turn placed inside the huge body of the airship. However light they were, the water stored inside provided a significant weight. Because of this, the height of the ship decreased, making it vulnerable to anti-aircraft guns. Even though it was not easy to destroy them, developments continued to be made, in order to make them even more powerful, as they had been designated as the Army's superweapon. One big development was that of an early form of airplanes. As the airplane would have been able to fly if not for the large amount of water stored inside, the most logical solution was to transform it into miniature airships. These helium filled machines made use of two steam engines, one on each double wing, with two propellors each, one on the front and one on the rear, and it was armed with two nose-mounted rotary cannons, as well as a bomb under its belly. Instead of the cannons, it could also be armed with more bombs. Another big project, that would not be completed for over 20 years later, were three so-called Amaterasu-class airships, which were the biggest aereal vehicles ever built in all of Reynaerdia. They were filled gigantic ships, mostly made of metal, filled with helium. Of course, as a metal airship is heavier than a rigid one, and helium is heavier than hydrogen, they had to be quite big, in order to store all the gas. It featured an HQ on top of it, protected by a handful of rotary cannons as well as a large gun, and on the underside of its belly, there was a huge gondola, with a large amount of guns, defensive rotary cannons, a bridge, and even a small airport, because of which the airship could function as an aircraft carrier. It also contained a bay with numerous bombs, explosive as well as incindiary, to drop on enemy cities, which was their main purpose (apart from instilling fear in the enemy). Trivia * The crest of the Army is based on that of the Hōjō clan of Japanese history, the three dragonscales. However, the Yukida crest also features a Japanese snowflake motive around it. Also, the three dragonscales are said to be three bars of iron in the Yukida version, hence the name "Iron Snowflake". * The Capital City Watch is based on the City Watch of Dunwall in the game Dishonored, the Death's Servants being based on Dead Counters. * In the earlier ages of the Army, it features Samurai-styled warriors, but strangely, the uniforms used when not on the battlefield, as well as the ranks, show World-War influence. * The officer's uniforms feature several hats: the ones resembling peaked caps, and those resembling tricornes. In the fictional history of Ezo, the former has derived from the Shokuinbo (Ezoan version of the Mandarin cap), still featuring the small dome on the top for protection of the wearer's topknot, and the latter has derived from some type of crown mostly used for religious purposes, like in the depiction of Emma, the King of the Underworld. * The use of the rotary cannon in the Boshin War is based upon the introduction of the Gatling gun in the real-life Boshin War in Japan. * The machine gun used in the late Purge War strongly resembles a Maxim machine gun, apart from the crank. * The helmet used in the Purge War, resembles the German Stahlhelm, but also features a hachiman-za, which is the little ornament on top of a samurai's kabuto helmet.